Vertical farming company Plenty has filed for bankruptcy. In its statement, Plenty said it has received a commitment for $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as part of a proposed restructuring plan. It plans to continue to operate a strawberry farm in Virginia and a plant science research and development (R&D) center in Wyoming. Debtor-in-possession financing is financing for firms in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since its 2014 inception, South San Francisco-based Plenty has raised nearly $1 billion in funding from a variety of investors, including SoftBank Investment Advisers, Walmart, Bezos Expeditions, and Jeff Bezos as an angel investor. Its last known valuation was $1.9 billion at the time of a $400 million Series E fundraise in January 2022, according to PitchBook. Read more on Plenty at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Mary Ann Azevedo Image Credits: Plenty #TechCrunch #technews #Plenty #startup #farming #agrotech #agtech

In a breakthrough that could redefine the future of farming, scientists have uncovered a hidden genetic switch that makes wheat far more productive. Researchers at the University of Maryland discovered that a single gene, called WUSCHEL-D1 (WUS-D1), can transform a wheat flower from producing one grain to producing up to three. When this gene is activated early in the plant’s development, it reshapes the flower’s internal structure, allowing each floret to bear multiple ovaries, and therefore multiple grains. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help feed billions without expanding farmland.⁠ ⁠ The team created a genomic map of the mutant multi-ovary wheat and compared it to standard bread wheat. The crucial difference was that WUS-D1, normally silent, becomes active during early floral growth, enlarging tissues that form pistils and ovaries.⁠ ⁠ This genetic switch allows the plant to produce more reproductive structures and more grains per spikelet. Even modest gains in grain number could have a massive impact worldwide, given that wheat is a daily food source for billions of people in more than 120 countries.⁠ ⁠ Traditional breeding has reached its limits, while climate stress and shrinking farmland threaten future yields. WUS-D1 activation offers a powerful biological tool to raise output without demanding more land or fertilizer.⁠ ⁠ Using precision gene-editing to fine-tune this gene, scientists aim to design wheat varieties with denser, higher-yield heads that use the same resources more efficiently.⁠ ⁠ The discovery could also extend beyond wheat. If similar genetic pathways exist in crops like rice or maize, this strategy could revolutionize global agriculture and help sustain humanity in a warming world.⁠ ⁠ #agtech #genetics #wheat #foodsecurity #plantbiology #crispr #precisionag #cropbreeding #sustainability #biotechnology

Vertical farming company Plenty has filed for bankruptcy. In its statement, Plenty said it has received a commitment for $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as part of a proposed restructuring plan. It plans to continue to operate a strawberry farm in Virginia and a plant science research and development (R&D) center in Wyoming. Debtor-in-possession financing is financing for firms in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since its 2014 inception, South San Francisco-based Plenty has raised nearly $1 billion in funding from a variety of investors, including SoftBank Investment Advisers, Walmart, Bezos Expeditions, and Jeff Bezos as an angel investor. Its last known valuation was $1.9 billion at the time of a $400 million Series E fundraise in January 2022, according to PitchBook. Read more on Plenty at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Mary Ann Azevedo Image Credits: Plenty #TechCrunch #technews #Plenty #startup #farming #agrotech #agtech